Us Ives: May 2013

It's 9:00, and currently both boys are peacefully asleep. It's Saturday, so I've had a chance to catch up on some laundry and get the dishwasher running. Also, Saturday means I got to "sleep in" until 7:30, so I'm not especially tired. Lauren visited this week, and I keep expecting the woman from whom we bought this house to swing by for some mail, so my house is actually fairly clean (okay, just downstairs, but still). Thus, the perfect conditions for blogging :).

I will add that I'm watching sweet Brady in the baby monitor, and his little hand has worked its way out of his swaddle, so I'm pretty sure he'll be up for a little more eating and snuggling before he's actually down for the night. But you never know, he is growing up and one of these days won't have to be swaddled so tightly to sleep. So maybe this post will be finished tonight, but maybe not. Most nights lately it's been "maybe not."

Things I'm really excited about:
- 4 more weeks and I am finished with the school year, which means I'm finished with full-time work for the foreseeable future. I am so ready to be home with my boys. I will also be tutoring and working part-time for my mom. So I will still be busy- but there's nothing like working full-time and being mom full-time. I have all of the respect in the world for the Mommas who are able to keep up with both!

-Brady is smiling a lot, and he is laughing some. He has the sweetest little smile, and we've entered the "happy" 3-month-old phase in which he smiles a lot more than he cries. He had the dinnertime-fussy-time that a lot of babies do the first few months of life, and it seems like we've gotten through it. I heard him laugh for the very first time when I was getting him to smile (using a stuffed giraffe from Aunt Mollie) for a picture. Then a few days later, his Papa got him to really laugh when we were all out to eat. Funny faces/ noises and tickling are our best chances at getting giggles from cutie Brady. It doesn't get any better than hearing your baby laugh.

-Anderson said "bwue" and "re" (blue and red) yesterday morning. He is learning so much everyday and recognizes/ identifies a ton of words. He's still saying new words on a pretty slow and steady basis; most of the words he says are still letters and numbers. So breaking through with some color words was a very happy way to start my Friday morning.

And here are some of my favorite pictures from the last month or so...

Anderson helped Daddy with the mulch. By "help", I mean he followed Daddy around and then brought the mulch from the backyard back to the big pile in the driveway one handful at a time. He was very content, but more serious than smiley about his yard work (Anderson, that is :) )

With the warmer weather, the boys and I have loved playing in the backyard after school. Anderson likes the independence and says, "Bye!" when he walks across the yard from us. Sadie loves it, too, and she and Anderson have become good buddies. She's still a big (hyper) puppy!

Thanks to my mom, we have a family membership to the Children's Museum of Richmond. We love it! Anderson gets to wander around and play, and Brady loves to snuggle and watch. There's even a nursing room available, so I can feed Brady while Anderson plays with Grandma or Dad.

And Mother's Day weekend... it was perfect! Saturday afternoon with the Ives, Saturday evening, Anderson and I attended a 2-year old birthday party for Fiona (a new friend from our neighborhood.) Sunday afternoon at my Mom and Dad's house....